World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day, annual observance aimed at raising awareness of AIDS and the spread of HIV. World AIDS Day occurs on December 1 and was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1988 to facilitate the exchange of information among national and local governments, international organizations, and individuals.

Defining moments that have shaped the ongoing fight against AIDS are detailed in History of the AIDS Crisis: A Timeline.

AIDS awareness

When the first World AIDS Day was held in 1988, an estimated 90,000 to 150,000 people were infected with HIV, which causes AIDS. New HIV infections peaked in 1997 at around 3.3 million, while AIDS-related deaths peaked later, in 2004, at 2.1 million deaths per year. Since that time, primarily owing to advances in treatment, new cases and deaths have declined dramatically from year to year, with AIDS-related deaths estimated at about 630,000 in 2024.

As trends have shifted from HIV/AIDS being a rapidly escalating crisis in the 1980s and 1990s to HIV infection being a manageable, chronic health condition in many parts of the world, AIDS awareness has likewise changed. Today, efforts are focused on ending the public health threat of HIV/AIDS by 2030, with specific benchmarks set forth by UNAIDS and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by United Nations (UN) member states. Among those targets are the elimination of HIV discrimination and the reduction of both new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS-related causes to fewer than 500,000 people worldwide each year.

Activities and themes

World AIDS Day activities often involve the distribution of information, with each participating entity creating and organizing its own agenda. Some countries launch weeklong campaigns. Many countries and cities hold ceremonies that serve to commence World AIDS Day activities on international, national, and local levels. For example, leaders in some countries may deliver proclamation, while in other countries, ministers of health make a speech drawing attention to AIDS concerns. Other typical World AIDS Day activities include concerts, rallies, memorials to those who have died from AIDS, discussions, and debates. A major international symbol of World AIDS Day is the red ribbon, worn as a demonstration of commitment to the fight against AIDS. In the United States a symbol commemorating those who have died of AIDS is the AIDS Memorial Quilt, sections of which are displayed in various cities and towns throughout the country on World AIDS Day.

WHO organized World AIDS Day, developing the annual themes and activities, until 1996, when these responsibilities were assumed by UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. In 1997 UNAIDS created the World AIDS Campaign (WAC) to increase AIDS awareness and to integrate AIDS information on a global level. In 2005 the WAC became an independent body, functioning as a global AIDS advocacy movement, based in Cape Town, South Africa, and Amsterdam, Netherlands. In addition to ensuring the support of leaders and AIDS organizations, the WAC prepares information that is distributed for World AIDS Day.

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World AIDS Day’s first theme was “Communication.” For 2005 to 2010 the WAC fostered the theme “Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise,” which the organization used not only on World AIDS Day but also throughout the year to raise awareness of AIDS. World AIDS Day 2024, themed “Collective Action: Sustain and Accelerate HIV Progress,” emphasized the power of collaboration to safeguard progress in HIV prevention and treatment and to move closer to ending the crisis. In 2025, “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response,” centered on challenges introduced by funding cuts and other disruptions.